• Family affair: Acadians begin their celebration 
• Friendly people make heat more bearable
• Canadians make trek to Louisiana
• Oh, Canada! 
• Acadians rediscover 'cousins' at Mass 
• Acadians honor Native Americans who helped them 
• Congrès spirit not dampened
• Congrès Mondial Acadien - Day 2
• Acadian fest ties threads of history

HOUMA - The verdict from a selection of Canadian visitors at the opening ceremony of Congrès Mondial
Acadien on Sunday afternoon was unanimous - the people of south Louisiana are friendly and the weather is hot.

Despite a thunderstorm that drew much of the crowd indoors at the Houma-Terrebonne Civic Center for almost two hours, Canadian visitors said they were enjoying their time in Louisiana.

"I noticed that people would come to us if they saw we were visitors," said Lucille St. Denis, of Ottawa,
Ontario. "We feel welcomed." 

St. Denis and Carmel Roy of Ottawa and Lise Langevin and Lionel Roy from Three River, Quebec, arrived in Houma on Saturday in their two motor homes.

"We're a caravan of two," Carmel Roy said.

With their first full day in Houma, they said they liked the area but, like many of the Canadian visitors, they had one qualifier.

"It's warm," Carmel Roy said while sitting in some shade provided by the Civic Center building.

The group is traveling to Lafayette for the Roy family reunion celebration this Saturday and Sunday.

The opening celebration included music by several bands from Louisiana and Canada and a ceremonial blessing by the United Houma Nation and the Mi'kmaq Grand Council delegates. The performance by the Canadian Armed Forces "Sky Hawks" Acrobatic Parachute Team was canceled because mechanical problems.

Live music started at 6:30 p.m., but by 7:30 p.m. ominous thunderclouds started rolling in from the southeast.

Although one optimistic event organizer told the crowd that the rain never lasted long in south Louisiana, the festivities were brought indoors for almost two hours. 

Some people headed directly for their cars, lawn chairs and all, while others went inside the Civic Center during the downpour and thunderstorm. The peak crowd of about 2,500 people slowly dwindled to about 1,000.

Three visitors from southeast New Brunswick, Canada, spent some of the indoor time talking with people they'd met the day before at the Bourgeois family reunion in Vacherie.

Carmella Bourgeois, Marguerite Bourgeois Gagnon, Florence Bourgeois and about 30 other people were
making their Cajun trek with a tour company. 

"We wanted to be at the family reunion and learn about the people and your culture," Gagnon said.

In addition to Houma, they'll be visiting Baton Rouge, Lafayette and New Orleans during their time in Louisiana.

"All the nice places to visit," Gagnon said. 

Although there are many Canadians who have made the trip to be a part of the Congrès Mondial Acadien, many more canceled their plans for several reasons, Carmella Bourgeois said. People were not only scared off by the heat, but the exchange rate between Canadian and U.S. currency made the trip an expensive one. 

She said the exchange rate now is about 52 cents on the dollar, meaning to get $100 in U.S. currency,
Canadians have to pay $152.

"So we saved for a long time, put some money in the piggy banks and Mother's Day presents and birthday presents," she said.

None of the women seemed phased about the turn in the weather and tongue-in-cheek assured that they had seen rain before in New Brunswick. 

Locally, a group from the Savoie family reunion organization from Lafayette also came to check out the opening evening festivities.

"We just wanted to come to see the opening ceremony," Sylvia Savoie Hanks, secretary for the Savoie family reunion this Saturday in Lafayette.

By 8:15 p.m., the bad weather seemed to have passed through Houma and people started to head outside for the schedule of band concerts to resume. The local and Canadian bands began playing again about 9 p.m.

As everyone started back out into the now, much cooler evening, Thomas Gallant of New Brunswick, Canada, said he was still having a good time.

"There's no word to express it, the friendliness of these people," Gallant said. 

Gallant came to Houma with a tour group and attended the Achee/Hache/Gallant family reunion in Thibodaux on Saturday. 

"We knew it was going to be a good time. We just knew it," Gallant said.